U.K. home prices slip by most since 2009 in March

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- U.K. house prices tumbled by more than expected in March, according to data from mortgage provider Nationwide on Friday.

On an annual basis, home prices dropped by 3.1%, extending a fall of 1.1% in the prior month. It was the largest decline since July 2009 and a bigger decrease than economists' projections of 2.2%.

Month-on-month, Nationwide's index also moved down by 0.8% following a slip of 0.5% in February. Forecasts had seen a dip of 0.3%.

The non-seasonally adjusted average price for a residential property stood at just over £257,000, below a high of £274,000 reached in August.

"The housing market reached a turning point last year as a result of the financial market turbulence which followed the mini-Budget. Since then, activity has remained subdued," said Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner in a statement.

He added that mortgage approvals for house purchases remained "weak" at 43,500 cases in February, almost 40% under the level a year ago.

In the first quarter, house price growth slowed in all 13 regions of the U.K. covered by the index, with nine of those recording a fall in the three-month period.

“It will be hard for the market to regain much momentum in the near term since consumer confidence remains weak and household budgets remain under pressure from high inflation," Gardner said.